Partially integrated velocity-modulated tube structure and housing therefor

ABSTRACT

A velocity-modulated tube, particularly a travelling wave tube, having an electron beam generator at one end and an electron collector at the opposite end, which is operatively enclosed, in adjusted relation, in a magnetic system for form an integrated assembly, a ribbed or finned component surrounding said assembly, constructed to dissipate heat, in which the finned component comprises a separable high frequency tight housing in which the velocity-modulated tube and integrated magnetic system is disposed, the latter having flangeless high frequency input and output coupling elements which are received in cooperable slots in the housing operative to retain said tube and integrated magnetic system in operative position, with said coupling elements communicating with corresponding input and output hollow wave guides connected to said housing.

l l i 1 1 l l Inventor Appl No.

Filed Patented Assignee Priority Herbert Sarnezki Munich, Germany Nov. 5. I969 July [3. 1971 Siemens Aktlengesellschnlt Berlin and Munich, Germany Dec. 12, 1968 Germany PARTIALLY INTEGRATED VELOCITY- MODULATED TUBE STRUCTURE AND HOUSING THEREFOR 5 Claims, 1 Drawing Fig.

U.S.CI INS/3.5, 3lS/3.6,3l5/3l3 Int. Cl H0 lj 25/34 Field 0! Search 315/35, 3.6, 39.3

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,444,4 l 8 S/l969 Sarnezki et al. 3 l 5/15 3,444,419 5/l969 Hansen etal, .t 315/36 Primary Examiner-E|i Lieberman Assistant ExaminerSaxfield Chatmon, .lr. Attorney-Hill, Sherman, Meroni, Gross and Simpson ABSTRACT: A velocity-modulated tube, particularly a travelling wave tube, having an electron beam generator at one end and an electron collector at the opposite end, which is operatively enclosed, in adjusted relation, in a magnetic system for form an integrated assembly, a ribbed or finned component surrounding said assembly, constructed to dissipate heat, in which the finned component comprises a separable high frequency tight housing in which the velocitymodulated tube and integrated magnetic system is disposed, the latter having flangeless high frequency input and output coupling elements which are received in cooperable slots in the housing operative to retain said tube and integrated magnetic system in operative position, with said coupling elements communicating with corresponding input and output hollow wave guides connected to said housing.

l i l mit a5 fj at PARTIALLY INTEGRATED VELOCITY-MODULATED TUBE STRUCTURE AND HOUSING THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to velocity-modulated tubes, more particularly travelling-wave tubes having an electron beam generator at one tube end and an electron beam collector at the opposite end, with the tube being retentatively supported, in adjusted relation, in a magnetic system surrounding the same to form an integrated assembly which is cooperable with a ribbed or finned structure surrounding the tube and constructed to effect a dissipation of heat.

Efforts have been made to design velocity-modulated tubes in such a manner that in the event of a breakdown of the tube itself only such tube, containing the electron beam generator, an interaction section, and the electron collector which is the most sensitive part of such a velocity-modulated tube, need be replaced while the remaining components, such as the magnetic system, can be retained for subsequent use. However, these efforts have been quite limited, in particular, to certain tube types, as velocitymodulated tubes are usually very thin and when, as frequently required, they are constructed within a glass envelope, they are readily subject to breakage, and a simple exchange of the tube in the magnetic system normally is not possible due to the high risk of breakage during the adjusting operation.

The present invention therefore is directed to the production of a velocity-modulated tube which eliminates the difficulties heretofore experienced.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a velocity-modulated tube in which the tube proper is integrated with the magnetic system so that in case of breakdown of a part of the tube proper the entire asembly including the tube and magnetic system can be discarded. To maintain production costs as low as possible, only the velocity-modulated tube itself and the magnetic system are integrated, while the outer hollow wave guide connections and the ribbed or finned member surrounding the tube and designed to dissipate heat are fonned as separate components which can be subsequently utilized following replacement of the integrated tube assembly.

To enable replacement of such integrated tube assembly as rapidly and simply as possible, and in particular to avoid the loosening of screws and the like for effecting hollow wave guide flange connections, the present invention employs a finned member constructed in the form of a high frequencytight housing, comprising at least two separable parts, preferably hinged together, wherein the velocity-modulated tube and magnetic system integrated therewith are provided with flangeless high frequency input and output coupling elements, which are retained in operative positions by insertion of the coupling elements into corresponding receiving slots in the housing for cooperation with input and output hollow wave guides securely mounted at the exterior of the housing. The coupling elements are adapted to have their frontal edges bear on metallic laminae or discs which are disposed between the hollow wave guides and the bottom of the receiving slots. To provide the most favorable load matching of the coupling elements with the hollow wave guides of the housing, which ordinarily have different impedances, there are provided stepped transformers in the form of hollow wave guides which are disposed between the receiving slots for the coupling elements and the outwardly projecting hollow wave guides of the housing, such transformers being in the form of hollow wave guides sections which are of successively greater width, proceeding outwardly from the coupling elements toward the flanges of the hollow wave guides carried by the housing.

To secure the assembly, consisting of the velocity-modulated tube and integrated magnetic system, in its inserted position in a simple manner and to assure an effective high frequency transition from the coupling elements to the hollow wave guides of the housing there is provided, in a further development of the invention, spring-loaded pins which are mounted in a half of the housing remote from the hollow wave guides, operative upon closing of the housing to engage the outer surface of the magnetic system in such a manner that a pressure is exerted by the coupling elements on said discs, which amounts to at least a few kilograms.

A particular problem existing in the construction of a velocity-modulated tube is the requirement that the arrangement be high frequencytight, and in particular the problem of bringing the electrical connecting lines or conductors of the tube out of the tube assembly in a high frequencytight manner. Such an arrangement is substantially achieved in the velocitymodulated tube according to the invention, in accordance with a further development thereof, by the utilization of an arrangement in which the electrical conductors from the tube are constructed for plug-in connection to wall plugs or sockets mounted in the housing interior, from which shielded cables, securely connected with the housing, can be extended outwardly through the housing in a high frequencytight manner. This further development of the invention enables the utiliza tion of a particularly simple and inexpensive construction of the integrated tube and magnetic system assembly which is to be inserted into the housing, since no particular consideration need be given as the integrated assembly is itself already high frequencytight. The sealing or tightness of the arrangement with respect to the exterior is achieved by the high frequencytight housing, whereby even the means of effecting external connections raises no problem whatsoever, as the external high frequency lines may all be permanently connected to the housing and can be brought out in a simple and conventional manner, as for example over suitable bushings or the like.

Spring-loaded cooling plates or fins advantageously are disposed in the finned member according to the invention, preferably designed as a hinged high frequencytight housing, at such a location in the housing they will, upon closing of the latter be thermally engaged with the electron collector. As a result only a minimum number of parts are discarded when a tube is exchanged, while the high frequencytight housing containing the electrical connecting lines, the input and output hollow wave guides and the cooling tins remain in operable connection. and can be subsequently utilized. It will be particularly appreciated that the plug-and-socket type of connections utilizing flangeless coupling elements results in a considerable saving of time during tube exchange and represents a considerable cost advantage as very expensive connecting elements in the form of flange connections and the like which must be very accurately fabricated are completely eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of a certain preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of l DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. I, the reference numeral I indicates generally an integrated velocity-modulated tube assembly 1 comprising the actual tube containing the electron beam generator 2, the interaction section 3 and the collector with the tube being enclosed in the magnetic system 5. The latter includes, in addition to the member 6, designed to focus the electron beam, a magnetic system 7 disposed adjacent the end of the tube carrying the beam generator 2 and arranged to generate a preliminary field preceding the focusing field which assures the accurate entrance of the beam into such region by means of a magnetic field reversal prior to the entrance of the beam into the interaction section. The input and output coupling elements 8 and 9 extend transversely across the magnetic system integrated with the tube and terminate in flangeless coupling elements by means of which connection may be made with a hollow wave guide structure exteriorly of the magnetic system.

The integrated velocity-modulated tube assembly above described may be installed in a suitable housing, illustrated as comprising two sections and 2! which are provided on oppositely disposed walls thereof with cooling ribs or fins 22 and I9 respectively. The housing section 20 is provided with receiving slots 23 into which the respective coupling elements 8 and 9 may be inserted, for centering and retention of the tube in the housing. Carried by the housing section 20 are respective input and output hollow wave guides 24 and 25 cooperable with the coupling elements 8 and 9. The hollow wave guides 24 and 25 are operatively connected with the inserted coupling elements 8 and 9 by respective stepped trans formers 26, which are constructed in the form of hollow wave guide components which are successively greater in width in an outward direction from the coupling elements 8 and 9 and are operable to match the characteristic impedance of the coupling elements to the high frequency input and output hollow wave guides which are to be attached to the flanges 27 or 28 of the wave guides 24 and 25 carried by the housing. To provide a substantially perfect electrical contact between the coupling elements 8 and 9 and the hollow wave guides 24 and 25 on the housing, metallic laminae are disposed at the bottom of the recesses 23 in the form of conventional laminated sheets 29 having individual tongues thereon which are interlaced so that even in the most unfavorable case each tongue establishes contact with the front surfaces 30 of the stepped transformers as well as with the frontal surfaces 3] of the coupling elements 8 or 9.

In the installation of the tube assembly, the collector 4 is operatively engaged with a stack of cooling plates or fins 4], the actual engagement being effected upon a relatively large surfaced, flat two-part clamping member 42 which encircles the relatively small round collector and is clamped thereabout, which provides additional heat transfer surface for the collector, as well as retains the tube in desired position at the end of the magnetic system. As illustrated, the respective cooling plates or fins 4| are provided in both housing sections 20 and 2] and are so arranged by means of spring elements that they may slide transversely with respect to the housing sections, in the direction of tube insertion as well as tilt laterally so that they may readily confonn to and engage the clamping member 42, to provide good heat interchange therebetween. Extending inwardly from the rear wall 43 of the housing section 20 are respective internally threaded abutment means 44 and 45 which are disposed in laterally spaced relation with respect to the inserted tube, and cooperable with such abutments are respective securing screws 46 and 47, carried on the other housing section 21, which are disposed that they may be screwed into the cooperable abutment.

The housing section 21 is provided with spring-loaded pins 48 and 49 extending inwardly from the adjacent housing wall and arranged to engage the outer wall of the magnetic system of an installed assembly thereby applying a pressure of a few kilograms thereon to insure effective electrical contact between the coupling elements 8 and 9 and the wave guides 24 and 25.

The electrical connecting conductors 60 and 65, by means of which electrical connection may be made in the tube are adapted to be inserted into corresponding sockets $0 to 55 disposed in the high frequencytight housing 20-21. Shielded cables may be readily brought to the exterior in a high frequencytight manner by use of a lateral adapter member 66 on the casing. This arrangement results in a very simple construction with respect to the components to be discarded in the exchange ofa tube, i.e., the assembly, comprising the tube itself and the magnetic system, since the connecting conductors associated with the tube and the tube itself need not be as sembled in a high frequencytight manner.

As will be apparent from a reference to FIG. 1, the embodiment of the invention illustrated is provided with suitable hinge elements by means of which the housing section 2! may be pivoted in an upward direction into open position, or downwardly into closed position. To facilitate installation of the tube, means are provided for automatically maintaining the housing in open relation when the section 21 is raised upwardly to the position illustrated in FIG. 1. To accomplish this the hinge components include a member pivotally mounted on the housing section 21, having a projection or bolt 71 which may slide upwardly into engagement with the end edge of a guide and latch member 73 under the action of a leaf spring 72, thereby latching the section 21 in opened position. By manually applying pressure in a downward direction on the member carrying the bolt 71, to move the latter to a position below the guide plate 73, the casing section may be pivoted downward under its own weight to a closed position.

The invention is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated. For example, it may be desirable in some cases to provide an arrangement in which the one section is secured to the other by screws or the like, and likewise it will be apparent that where a hinged construction is employed, the hinges may be disposed to permit pivotal movement between the two housing sections in a direction other than that illustrated, Likewise, is some cases it may be desirable to employ casing sections of different sizes instead of two substantially equally sized sections as illustrated, as for example forming one section merely as a door structure and the other section as the housing proper to which the door is pivoted or otherwise connected therewith.

I claim as my invention:

1. A velocity-modulated tube structure, particularly a travelling wave tube structure, comprising a velocity-modulated tube, having an electron beam generator at one end and an electron collector at the other end of the tube, which is operatively enclosed, in adjusted relation, in a magnetic system surrounding the same to form an integrated assembly, cooperable with a ribbed component surrounding the tube and constructed to dissipate heat, said ribbed component comprising a high frequencytight housing having at least two sections, said assembly comprising the velocity-modulated tube and magnetic system being provided with flangeless high frequency input and output coupling elements, one of said housing sections having corresponding receiving slots therein arranged to receive said coupling elements, by means of which the integrated assembly is retained in operative position, and input and output hollow wave guides securely connected to the housing and disposed for communication with the respec tive coupling elements of such retained integrated assembly, the frontal edges of the coupling elements of the mounted integrated assembly bearing upon a surface formed by metallic laminae in the form of metallic sheets interposed between such frontal edge and the adjacent surface of the corresponding wave guide, at the inner end of the cooperable receiving slot.

2. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim 1, comprising stepped transformers in the form of hollow wave guide components disposed between the receiving slot for the coupling elements and the outwardly extending hollow wave guide carried by the housing, said hollow wave guide components being successively greater in width preceding outwardl y from adjacent the cooperable receiving slot.

3. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim I, comprising a further combination spring-loaded pins mounted in the housing section remote from the hollow wave guides which are arranged to bear on the outer face of the magnetic system when the housing is in closed relation latter in a high frequencytight manner.

5. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim I, comprising in further combination a plurality of springloaded cooling plate: disposed in the respective housing sections which are thermally connected with the electron collector of the tube when the housing is in closed relation. 

1. A velocity-modulated tube structure, particularly a travelling wave tube structure, comprising a velocity-modulated tube, having an Electron beam generator at one end and an electron collector at the other end of the tube, which is operatively enclosed, in adjusted relation, in a magnetic system surrounding the same to form an integrated assembly, cooperable with a ribbed component surrounding the tube and constructed to dissipate heat, said ribbed component comprising a high frequencytight housing having at least two sections, said assembly comprising the velocity-modulated tube and magnetic system being provided with flangeless high frequency input and output coupling elements, one of said housing sections having corresponding receiving slots therein arranged to receive said coupling elements, by means of which the integrated assembly is retained in operative position, and input and output hollow wave guides securely connected to the housing and disposed for communication with the respective coupling elements of such retained integrated assembly, the frontal edges of the coupling elements of the mounted integrated assembly bearing upon a surface formed by metallic laminae in the form of metallic sheets interposed between such frontal edge and the adjacent surface of the corresponding wave guide, at the inner end of the cooperable receiving slot.
 2. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim 1, comprising stepped transformers in the form of hollow wave guide components disposed between the receiving slot for the coupling elements and the outwardly extending hollow wave guide carried by the housing, said hollow wave guide components being successively greater in width preceding outwardly from adjacent the cooperable receiving slot.
 3. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim 1, comprising a further combination spring-loaded pins mounted in the housing section remote from the hollow wave guides which are arranged to bear on the outer face of the magnetic system when the housing is in closed relation whereby a pressure of a few kilograms is applied by the coupling elements to respective metallic sheets.
 4. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connecting conductors for the tube are arranged to be inserted into sockets disposed in the interior of the housing from which shielded cables fixedly connected to the housing are extended outwardly through the latter in a high frequencytight manner.
 5. A velocity-modulated tube structure according to claim 1, comprising in further combination a plurality of spring-loaded cooling plates disposed in the respective housing sections which are thermally connected with the electron collector of the tube when the housing is in closed relation. 